Rangers boss Steven Gerrard admits he’s paying heavy price of huge salaries handed to Caixinha’s flops

RANGERS boss Steven Gerrard admits he’s paying the price of massive salaries handed out to high-profile flops by his predecessor.

Gerrard would like to add a quality striker to his squad in January.

It would be a lot easier to do that if duds like Carlos Pena and Eduardo Herrera were off the wage bill.

Both were given astronomical salaries by former manager, Pedro Caixinha.

Pena, who rakes in £26,000 a week, is due to return from a loan spell in Mexico with Necaxa on January 5.

Fellow Mexican Eduardo Herrera earns £20,000 a week and is on a season-long loan at Santos Laguna in his homeland.

It’s clear that Gerrard would rather both men were off the wage bill, but that could prove difficult, with the Ibrox manager giving little encouragement to the idea of Pena playing for the club again.

It seems coming to an arrangement to terminate his contract early is the most likely option.

He said: “He is tied up until January 5, so his services belong elsewhere until then.

“Somewhere between now and then we will make a decision on his future but, at the moment, I think it would be a very long shot for him here.”

Rangers have had 14 players out on loan, but the two Mexicans are the ones tying up money that could be used to improve the squad.

Gerrard went on: “It’s a huge frustration for me. Some of these players that are not with us at the moment are earning big, big money when you compare it to the rest of the group.

“That’s money I could be doing with to recycle and make this team a lot stronger.

“Hopefully, in the coming weeks and months, we can wheel and deal to move people on and bring people in and be in a much better position.

“That’s what I want, but whether we can make it happen, I’ll have to wait and see.

“These are issues that I have inherited.

“I was aware of them when I came in, but it’s very, very difficult to find people new clubs if they’re earning extreme amounts of money that others are not prepared to pay.

“And those players are not playing at a good level or giving a good account of themselves.”

Gerrard won’t commit to players being paid off, but he’d obviously welcome that.

He added: “I don’t know. That’s a question you’d have to ask people above me. But it is a frustration when you know large sums of money are going out of the club and we’re not getting any contribution for it.”

Rangers will have to make do with the current squad for today’s home game with Hamilton Accies.

Former Accies midfielder Greg Docherty has been performing well for Shrewsbury Town, but Gerrard is not convinced that recalling him to Ibrox would be the best idea.

He said: “It’s a tough decision that one. We love Greg as a person and as a player.

“He’s very young, and it’s difficult to judge what is the next best step for him, because he’s enjoying his football and he’s getting regular games.

“From a selfish point of view, I could drag him back and have him here just to suit me.

“But I’ve got to think about the kid and his future and what is going to make him grow the quickest to be available for Rangers on a more consistent basis.

“We will speak to Greg in the coming weeks, get his thoughts on it, and we’ll probably speak to his representatives as well.”

Rangers have been linked with a January move for Everton midfielder Kieran Dowell and Gerrard did not dampen the speculation.

He said: “I definitely admire him. He’s an England Under-21 international.

“I’ve watched a lot of Kieran because of the rivalry between Liverpool and Everton.

“He’s a player I admire, but there’s not really anything else to say on that at the moment.”

One player now definitely out of Gerrard’s plans is striker, Umar Sadiq, who was on loan.

He has returned to his parent club, Roma, and looks set to be farmed out to Serie B side, Perugia.